Reviews
"Few authors write as colorfully and compellingly about the past as Karen Abbott, particularly when bad behavior is involved. In The Ghosts of Eden Park , we meet the audacious, larger-than-life 'King of the Bootleggers,' George Remus, and the equally fascinating women who will seal his fate. Sex and greed, corruption and revenge, oceans of illegal booze--Abbott's action-packed, riveting tale has it all." --Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife and Love and Ruin "Karen Abbott has long shown a formidable talent for rescuing Gothic stories from the noirish margins of American history. In The Ghosts of Eden Park , she's done it once again. Here is a high-proof narrative from the Age of Excess, populated with real-life gangsters and flapper girls, but also with plenty of surprising characters who cut against type. This Prohibition-era tale of trapdoors and false bottoms, of wicked pleasures and brilliant deceptions, springs to life on the page--and has Hollywood written all over it." --Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of In the Kingdom of Ice "In Karen Abbott's hands, the saga of bootlegger George Remus is more than just a rollicking tale of money, obsession, and murder (although it is certainly that), it's nonfiction's answer to The Great Gatsby and an instant classic. Scrupulously researched and packed with jaw-dropping details, The Ghosts of Eden Park is the most thrilling narrative I have read in a long time." --Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove and Beneath a Ruthless Sun "In The Ghosts of Eden Park , historian Karen Abbott gifts us with a story of sex, madness, and murder in Jazz Age America that is as intoxicating as a hit of bootlegged bourbon. In Abbott's hands, truth is not only stranger than fiction, it's also a hell of a lot more thrilling. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough." --Susannah Cahalan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire "Karen Abbott tells the story of Remus' rise and fall with a novelist's eye. . . . I was transfixed, not only by the incredible research that informed this compulsively readable book but also by what the story reveals about human nature, the interplay of brilliant and unpredictable individuals and the societies in which they live, and the way that greed, fame and lust can--and have--corrupted the motives of both lovers and enemies. If you are a fan of true crime, historical nonfiction and the Jazz Age, this is not a book to miss." -- BookPage (starred review) "Engrossing . . . This real-life page-turner will appeal to fans of Erik Larson." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Abbott continues her inquiry into sensational yet forgotten women's lives in this riveting combination of social history and true crime. . . . Smart and delectable [and] generating lots of buzz." -- Booklist "A spirited history . . . Abbott recounts in tense, vivid detail Remus's entanglement in intrigue, betrayal, madness, and violence. An entertaining tale ripped from the headlines of Jazz Age America." -- Kirkus Reviews, "Karen Abbott has long shown a formidable talent for rescuing Gothic stories from the noirish margins of American history. In The Ghosts of Eden Park , she's done it once again. Here is a high-proof narrative from the Age of Excess, populated with real-life gangsters and flapper girls, but also with plenty of surprising characters who cut against type. This Prohibition-era tale of trapdoors and false bottoms, of wicked pleasures and brilliant deceptions, springs to life on the page--and has Hollywood written all over it." --Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of In the Kingdom of Ice "In Karen Abbott's hands, the saga of bootlegger George Remus is more than just a rollicking tale of money, obsession, and murder (although it is certainly that), it's nonfiction's answer to The Great Gatsby and an instant classic. Scrupulously researched and packed with jaw-dropping details, The Ghosts of Eden Park is the most thrilling narrative I have read in a long time." --Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove and Beneath a Ruthless Sun "In The Ghosts of Eden Park , historian Karen Abbott gifts us with a story of sex, madness, and murder in Jazz Age America that is as intoxicating as a hit of bootlegged bourbon. In Abbott's hands, truth is not only stranger than fiction, it's also a hell of a lot more thrilling. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough." --Susannah Cahalan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire "A spirited history . . . Abbott recounts in tense, vivid detail Remus's entanglement in intrigue, betrayal, madness, and violence. An entertaining tale ripped from the headlines of Jazz Age America." -- Kirkus Reviews "A stellar achievement . . . Like a skilled bartender in an underground speakeasy, Karen Abbott expertly blends superb storytelling with immersive historical detail to create a heady cocktail of bootlegging, betrayal, and blood-dark passion. So vivid is the world she conjures that I could viscerally taste the whiskey and smell the sweat--and hear the gunshots too. The Ghosts of Eden Park has that bittersweet brilliance of all great books: though I couldn't stop turning the pages, I never wanted it to end." --Kate Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The Radium Girls " The Ghosts of Eden Park is a story so strange, so salacious, it nearly defies belief. Exquisitely crafted and expertly rendered, this book weds high drama to rigorous scholarship. Karen Abbott has mastered the art of telling true stories as riveting and suspenseful as fiction." --Lindsey Fitzharris, bestselling author of The Butchering Art, "Karen Abbott has long shown a formidable talent for rescuing Gothic stories from the noirish margins of American history. In The Ghosts of Eden Park , she's done it once again. Here is a high-proof narrative from the Age of Excess, populated with real-life gangsters and flapper girls, but also with plenty of surprising characters who cut against type. This Prohibition-era tale of trapdoors and false bottoms, of wicked pleasures and brilliant deceptions, springs to life on the page--and has Hollywood written all over it." --Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of In the Kingdom of Ice "In Karen Abbott's hands, the saga of bootlegger George Remus is more than just a rollicking tale of money, obsession, and murder (although it is certainly that), it's nonfiction's answer to The Great Gatsby and an instant classic. Scrupulously researched and packed with jaw-dropping details, The Ghosts of Eden Park is the most thrilling narrative I have read in a long time." --Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove and Beneath a Ruthless Sun "In The Ghosts of Eden Park , historian Karen Abbott gifts us with a story of sex, madness, and murder in Jazz Age America that is as intoxicating as a hit of bootlegged bourbon. In Abbott's hands, truth is not only stranger than fiction, it's also a hell of a lot more thrilling. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough." --Susannah Cahalan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire "Abbott continues her inquiry into sensational yet forgotten women's lives in this riveting combination of social history and true crime. . . . Smart and delectable [and] generating lots of buzz." -- Booklist "A spirited history . . . Abbott recounts in tense, vivid detail Remus's entanglement in intrigue, betrayal, madness, and violence. An entertaining tale ripped from the headlines of Jazz Age America." -- Kirkus Reviews "A stellar achievement . . . Like a skilled bartender in an underground speakeasy, Karen Abbott expertly blends superb storytelling with immersive historical detail to create a heady cocktail of bootlegging, betrayal, and blood-dark passion. So vivid is the world she conjures that I could viscerally taste the whiskey and smell the sweat--and hear the gunshots too. The Ghosts of Eden Park has that bittersweet brilliance of all great books: though I couldn't stop turning the pages, I never wanted it to end." --Kate Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The Radium Girls " The Ghosts of Eden Park is a story so strange, so salacious, it nearly defies belief. Exquisitely crafted and expertly rendered, this book weds high drama to rigorous scholarship. Karen Abbott has mastered the art of telling true stories as riveting and suspenseful as fiction." --Lindsey Fitzharris, bestselling author of The Butchering Art, " The Ghosts of Eden Park has prose so rich and evocative, you feel you're living the story--and it's full of lots of 'I didn't know that' moments. Gatsby -era noir at its best." --Erik Larson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake and The Devil in the White City "In Karen Abbott's hands, the saga of bootlegger George Remus is more than just a rollicking tale of money, obsession, and murder (although it is certainly that), it's nonfiction's answer to The Great Gatsby and an instant classic. Scrupulously researched and packed with jaw-dropping details, The Ghosts of Eden Park is the most thrilling narrative I have read in a long time." --Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove and Beneath a Ruthless Sun "With The Ghosts of Eden Park , historian Karen Abbott gifts us with a story of sex, madness, and murder in Jazz Age America that is as intoxicating as a hit of bootlegged bourbon. In Abbott's hands, truth is not only stranger than fiction, it's also a hell of a lot more thrilling. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough." --Susannah Cahalan, # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire